Transco to pursue Napocor transmission projects

The National Transmission Corp. (Transco) has committed to push through with the ongoing transmission line projects of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) despite delays in its privatization.

Transco incoming president Alan T. Ortiz, in an interview, said there is a need to continue all these projects since these had been committed and fully-funded by the firm’s multilateral creditors.

"We will have to review the status of these projects. But we will ensure that these (projects) will be completed as scheduled since we have commitments to our creditors. These projects have started a long time ago," Ortiz said.

Among the projects that should be pushed through, Ortiz said, are the Batangas Transmission Reinforcement, Leyte-Cebu Uprating project, Leyte-Bohol Transmission project and Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Ortiz said they will continue to recieved funds from Napocor for these projects until Transco becomes a separate entity by the end of this month.

"Our budget is still embedded to Napocor’s budget. Maybe next year, we could start operating on a separate budget," he said.

If necessary, Ortiz said Transco can borrow funds to finance its projects. But, he said the borrowing will only be allowed if the transmission firm has started performing as a separate entity.

The budget of Transco, he said, would depend on the company’s approved table of organization (TO).

The company’s TO would be composed of 3,747 personnel. And this number will likely go down depending on the winning concessionaire.

"After a while, they (winning concessionaire) will decide who will join them," he said.

Based on its privatization blueprint, Napocor will be divided into two segments: transmission and generation assets. Under Republic Act 9136 or Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), both assets will be handled by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM). Transco was created to manage the transmission assets of Napocor. – Donnabelle Gatdula